OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
OCTOBER 15, 2021
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
FALL FUN
HARBOR DAY AT THE DOCKS
Maritime festival returns to its in-person format on Saturday in West Ocean City – Page 26
FREE
Judge blocks Ocean Pines election rerun Orders officials to count all ballots from past contest, including ones cast for Farr By Greg Ellison Staff Writer (Oct. 15, 2021) In a sharp rebuke of the “highly irregular” election machinations executed by an Ocean Pines Board of Directors majority,
Circuit Court Judge Sidney Campen on Wednesday blocked the majority’s plan to hold a new election of directors and ordered all ballots from the summer’s disputed contest to be counted publicly. That counting, Campen made clear from the bench in Snow Hill, will include ballots cast for Richard Farr, who was disqualified midway through the election by then-associa-
tion secretary Camilla Rogers. Farr was deemed an eligible candidate in May at the start of the election but ruled ineligible by Rogers on July 27 after an anonymous phone call questioned his property ownership status through a family trust. “I don’t want this case to drag out,” the judge said, referring to his pledge in September to fast-track Farr’s legal challenge of his disqualification so
the regular election could be concluded. On Aug. 30, Campen denied Farr’s request for an injunction to prevent the board from proceeding with the election process without him. Campen ruled then that the board could continue its election work, but added he hoped the directors would do “the right thing.” See JUDGE Page 7
Gehrig lashes budget mgr. over room tax Knapp says council gets line-by-line breakdown
GREG WEHNER/OCEAN CITY TODAY
DAWN PATROL
Ocean City got a front row seat to a spectacular sunrise on Saturday, Oct. 9, as clouds off the coast gave depth to the oranges and reds, appearing like a fire in the sky.
Worker housing site list shrinks By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (Oct. 15, 2021) The Ocean City Council has narrowed down the search for locations to build seasonal workforce housing, with a property on 100th Street and one in the down-
town portion of the city leading the way. City Manager Doug Miller told the council that five locations were being looked at for the housing, which would be used for J-1 students, seasonal police officers, lifeguards, and
other temporary workers. The first site is the Ocean City Development Corporation Model Block near Dorchester Street in Downtown Ocean City. Miller said OCDC’s workforce See CITY Page 9
By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (Oct. 15, 2021) What started as a presentation of historical data regarding the Ocean City room tax turned into a verbal assault on the city’s budget manager from one city councilman who, despite data and figures that were shown during a work session on Tuesday, accused her of fear mongering and violating the city’s ordinance governing room tax distributions. Budget Manager Jennie Knapp was invited to the City Council work session on Tuesday to provide historical and budgetary information on the room tax, the advertising budget, and the general fund. During her presentation, Knapp showed charts and gave explanations of why the room tax was established and how it grew from 4 percent to 5 percent. The resort began collecting room taxes in 1998 and last increased rates from 4 to 4.5 percent in 2008 as part of an agreement with the lodging inSee BUDGET Page 8
